DC Universe #35
DC Universe #35 is a representative artifact of how Panini Comics France served as the primary gateway for French-speaking readers to access Geoff Johns's mid-2000s reinvention of the DC Universe in real time. The issue packages three concurrent Johns-era storylines — the conclusion of the 'Mystery of the Star Sapphire' arc in Green Lantern, a chapter of the landmark JLA/JSA crossover 'The Lightning Saga,' and the finale of the Deathstroke-driven 'Titans East' arc in Teen Titans — making it a compact cross-section of the era's most narratively ambitious DC storytelling. 'The Lightning Saga' material reprinted here is particularly notable because that crossover formally restored the Legion of Super-Heroes to post-Infinite Crisis DC continuity, a move that seeded three years of subsequent Legion stories.
In "La saga de l'éclair chapitre trois : suicide," the JLA and JSA split into two teams on a mission across time and space, with Wildcat, Vixen, Flash, and Green Lantern heading to Gorilla City to find Timber Wolf, while Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Power Girl, and Red Arrow track Dawnstar on Thanagar. Back home, Black Canary and M. Terrific notice something strange—each Legionnaire carries a 31st-century lightning rod—before the group’s focus shifts as six of the seven Legionnaires gather to question their purpose in the 21st century. Written by Brad Meltzer and Jérémy Manesse, with art by Ed Benes and colors by Alex Sinclair, this issue features a striking cover by Michael Turner and Mark Roslan.
In "La saga de l'éclair chapitre trois : suicide," the JLA and JSA split into two teams to track down missing Legionnaires stranded in the past—Wildcat, Vixen, Flash, and Green Lantern head to Gorilla City for Timber Wolf, while Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Power Girl, and Red Arrow search Thanagar for Dawnstar. Back home, Black Canary and M. Terrific notice something strange: each Legionnaire bears a 31st-century lightning rod, but their investigation halts when six of the seven Legionnaires gather to confront the deeper question of why they’re even here in the 21st century.
In "La saga de l'éclair chapitre quatre," Superman joins forces with the JSA and JLA as the Legion of Super-Heroes ventures into Suicide Swamp to recover their lost member from the 21st century. When the team confronts a familiar enemy, the illusion of Computo emerges, turning the battle into a deadly trap—only for Superman to realize the truth behind the chaos. As the Legion seizes the moment to complete their mission, the lines between reality and deception blur.
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DC Universe was a monthly anthology magazine published by Panini Comics France continuously from August 2005 through October 2011, totalling 65 issues, before the DC licence transferred to Urban Comics. In 2008, the title was one of the few remaining DC-focused kiosk magazines in France, holding the line as other Panini DC titles (Batman, Superman) were consolidated or cancelled. Each issue gathered several American single issues — translated into French — released roughly six to nine months after their US on-sale dates, meaning DC Universe #35 collected material originally published in the United States in mid-2007.
Trivia · 8 facts
- DC Universe #35 was published by Panini Comics France as part of its 65-issue monthly anthology series running from 2005 to 2011.
- The issue reprints Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #20 (cover-dated July 2007), 'Mystery of the Star Sapphire Part 3,' written by Geoff Johns with art by Daniel Acuña — the conclusion of a three-part arc that ended with the Zamarons beginning to transform the Star Sapphire into a full emotional-spectrum power ring, directly seeding the later Blackest Night mythology.
- Green Lantern #20 also contains a backup story, 'Tales of the Sinestro Corps: The Fear Within,' written by Johns with art by Dave Gibbons, which is part of the pre-Sinestro Corps War buildup.
- The issue reprints Justice Society of America (Vol. 3) #6 (cover-dated July 2007), 'The Lightning Saga Chapter Four: Three Worlds,' written by Geoff Johns with pencils by Dale Eaglesham, inks by Ruy José, and a cover painted by Alex Ross. This chapter was part of the five-part JLA/JSA crossover co-written by Johns and Brad Meltzer that formally re-introduced the original Legion of Super-Heroes into post-Infinite Crisis DC continuity.
- The Lightning Saga crossover, portions of which are reprinted here, launched DC's three-year reinvention of the Legion, a narrative thread continued in 'Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes' in Action Comics and culminating in Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.
- The issue also reprints Teen Titans (Vol. 3) #46 (cover-dated June 2007), 'Titans East Part 4,' written by Geoff Johns with art by Tony S. Daniel — the concluding chapter of an arc in which Deathstroke assembles a villainous Titans East team, later collected in the Teen Titans: Titans East trade paperback.
- All three US source issues were on sale on the same day in the United States — May 30, 2007 — giving DC Universe #35 an unusually coherent single-night snapshot of the DC publishing line.
- DC Universe (Panini France) served as the principal French-language venue for Johns's major Green Lantern and JSA runs, including Sinestro Corps War and the early Blackest Night prologue material, before Urban Comics assumed the DC licence in 2011.
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints JLA: Classified #1 (2005), Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #2 (2005), Teen Titans #46 (2007), Green Lantern #20 (2007), Justice League of America #9 (2007), Justice Society of America #6 (2007), Batman / Lobo: Deadly Serious #2 (2007)
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